Why Your Skincare Needs Penetration Enhancers: Maximizing Active Performance

In skincare formulation, it’s not just about using powerful ingredients—it’s about ensuring those ingredients can penetrate the skin effectively to deliver their intended benefits. Even highly effective actives like hyaluronic acid and retinol may underperform if they don’t reach the deeper layers of the epidermis, where they can be most impactful. This is where penetration enhancers come into play. These ingredients boost the bioavailability of actives by helping them bypass the skin’s protective barrier for optimal absorption, improving hydration, texture, and overall skincare efficacy.

Penetration enhancers are ingredients designed to improve the absorption of actives into the deeper layers of the skin. By temporarily altering the skin’s barrier properties—such as by disrupting the lipid structure or increasing permeability—penetration enhancers allow key ingredients like retinol, peptides, and hyaluronic acid to penetrate more effectively, ensuring skincare products deliver their intended benefits with greater potency.

Penetration enhancers modify the skin’s natural barrier, primarily the stratum corneum, allowing active ingredients to penetrate more easily. They achieve this through various mechanisms:

• Disrupting the lipid structure: Enhancers fluidize or disorder the lipids in the stratum corneum, creating temporary gaps for active ingredients to pass through.
• Altering protein structure: Some enhancers interact with keratin in the skin’s outer layer, loosening bonds to increase permeability.
• Increasing solubility: Certain enhancers improve the solubility of actives, making them more easily absorbed.

These actions improve the depth and speed of ingredient absorption, enhancing the overall performance of skincare formulations.

The stratum corneum, the skin’s outermost layer, is a vital protective barrier. Composed of tightly packed dead skin cells (corneocytes) and a lipid matrix, it acts as a waterproof shield that defends against environmental stressors and moisture loss. However, this barrier also makes it difficult for many active ingredients to penetrate deeply.

• Barrier Structure: The stratum corneum's tight structure limits the penetration of most skincare ingredients.
• Large Molecules: Ingredients like hyaluronic acid, with larger molecular sizes, struggle to pass through the barrier.
• Water-Soluble Actives: Water-soluble ingredients, such as peptides and vitamins, have a harder time penetrating the lipid-rich barrier.
• Surface-Level Absorption: Without penetration enhancers, many actives remain on the surface of the skin, limiting their effectiveness.

Penetration enhancers help overcome these challenges, ensuring key ingredients reach deeper layers where they can deliver maximum results.

Not all penetration enhancers work the same way. Here’s a breakdown of the most common types:

Chemical Enhancers:

Synthetic compounds that interact with the skin’s lipid barrier to increase permeability.

• Ethanol: Disrupts the lipid structure, allowing ingredients to penetrate more easily.
• Propylene Glycol: Enhances absorption while retaining skin moisture.
• Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO): Deeply penetrates the skin, carrying active ingredients along with it.

Natural Enhancers:

Ideal for those looking for gentler, more natural alternatives.

• Essential Oils: Oils like eucalyptus and peppermint enhance penetration while offering aromatic benefits.
• Fatty Acids (Oleic Acid): Breaks down lipid layers, aiding in active ingredient absorption.
• Terpenes: Found in plant extracts, terpenes boost penetration while being gentle on the skin.

Physical Methods:

Complement topical enhancers by improving absorption through physical techniques.

• Microneedling: Creates tiny punctures in the skin, allowing actives to penetrate deeper.
• Iontophoresis: Uses mild electrical currents to push actives through the skin, enhancing absorption.

Our Pellicer™ Collection offers a range of plant-derived Gemini surfactants designed to enhance penetration while improving skin health. These products are ideal for formulators seeking to boost the absorption and efficacy of active ingredients in their formulations.

Best for emulsions and surfactant systems, Pellicer LB-10 improves skin penetration, hydration, and damage repair.

• Key Benefits: Enhanced absorption, skin repair, and hydration.
• Use Level: 0.1 – 1.0% in emulsions or surfactant systems.

Boosts skin elasticity and improves absorption of actives in cold-process systems, making it perfect for lotions and creams.

• Key Benefits: Improves skin elasticity, effective at low concentrations.
• Use Level: 0.03 – 0.3%.

A versatile option for gel-based systems, offering enhanced penetration and added stability for smooth application.

• Key Benefits: Improves penetration and texture in gel formulations.
• Use Level: 0.03 – 0.3%.

Penetration enhancers do more than just help ingredients get through the skin’s barrier—they amplify the performance of your skincare products in several key ways:

• Boosting Ingredient Potency:
  
  • By ensuring that ingredients like retinol and hyaluronic acid reach deeper layers, penetration enhancers improve the potency and effectiveness of these actives.
• Enhancing Product Absorption:
  
  • By increasing the skin’s permeability, penetration enhancers allow products to be absorbed more quickly and effectively, delivering faster results.
• Maximizing Results with Less Product:
  
  • Enhanced absorption means that formulators can use smaller amounts of actives while still achieving optimal results, making formulations more cost-effective and reducing the risk of irritation.

Safety is a key concern when incorporating penetration enhancers into skincare formulations. While these ingredients are crucial for boosting absorption, they must be carefully selected and formulated to ensure they don’t compromise the skin’s integrity.

Addressing Common Concerns:

Some chemical enhancers, such as ethanol, can cause irritation or dryness if used in high concentrations. However, when used correctly in a well-balanced formula, penetration enhancers are safe and effective.

Choosing the Right Enhancers:

Formulators should select enhancers that align with the overall goals of the product. Natural enhancers, such as oleic acid and essential oils, offer a gentler approach, while synthetic enhancers like propylene glycol can be used safely when properly formulated.

Penetration enhancers are essential for ensuring that high-performing actives like hyaluronic acid, retinol, and peptides are absorbed deeply enough to deliver their full range of benefits. By enhancing skin permeability, these ingredients boost the potency, speed absorption, and make skincare products more efficient. Whether you’re a formulator or a consumer, understanding the value of penetration enhancers can make all the difference in maximizing skincare results.